Turkish official arrested for selling state secrets

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey's state-run news agency says a Turkish official has been arrested in a police sting operation for attempting to sell the designs of two Turkish-made firearms to a U.S.-based company.

Anadolu Agency says Mustafa Tanriverdi, who headed a factory run by the state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, was arrested in the capital Ankara on Thursday as he left a restaurant after arranging to sell the designs to an official of a U.S.-based company for a total of 1.2 million Turkish lira ($420,000.)

Tanriverdi was charged with bribery and with "benefiting from state secrets and infidelity to state services," Anadolu reported.

Hurriyet newspaper says Turkish police were tipped off by the U.S.-based Turkish businessman who was part of the sting operation and acted as the buyer.